Verandah full of life on Woman's Day

All my children, lovely duaghters-in-law included, were under my roof for a few days.
    Unfortunately Emile and Jana had to leave for Paarl just after breakfast, but be had quality time - even if it was just for a long weekend.
    Here Inge carries the camping cot, purchased via Gumtree in GlenHurd, to the car...

at the breakfast table....

 and ....in front of the verandah,,,

Jana ... as seen by Prisma!

Brothers

Sherlock cottage gets a new look

Renovation ended mid Sept 2015                       pics taken later

Eon did a marvellous job inside the cottage...
    I could never have dreamed that the old wooden floors could get a shiny new life. The new tenant is a minimalist and the place has a new airiness about it.

Dining room

The pine kitchen cupboards got a new life!

Shining floors and a large TV screen where my

 mother used to bake and cook delicious goodies

The garage can now be entered from the garden as well.

Guests from the Basque country

Earlier this month Zuri and her friend Ibai from Bilboa in Spain spent three nights with us.
       They refer to themselves as Couchsurfers from the Basque country and I perfectly understand why they distance themselves from the rest of Spain.   Long history, but I spent time in Bilboa nearly four decades ago and have empathy with the Basque people and also those from Catalonia.   Culture and history so different...

       Anyhow, we had great conversations and an outing to the Maitland dunes. It was a rainy day but they enjoyed climbing the dunes and had a surprise - seeing a pod of dolphin!

                                                       Kia, Ibai and Zuri at Maitland

We stopped off at the Old Cash Store for the farmstall experience. The store was disappointing but the pathway creative ....

                                         At the breakfast table before they left for East London.

Long long ago..

Research work took me back to the 60's and I stumbled upon a small ad in Die Burger of 1966.
    In 1967, I started Joan Olivier's Modelling course part time in Adderley  St while working full time at DB in Keerom St.

The Verandah gets TLC

In her 109th year,  she obvious needed some spit and polish!
     We gave her a new lintel and installed an aluminium window...  
     

Young friends from way back

The Nel children were my charges in England on two occassions.
     They were tiny tots and I went to assist their parents Danie and Elbie in the summer of 2006 and spring of 2007.
Now they are back in SA and we had a braai in the garden. Lots of stories about the time in Pickering, North Yorkshire were related.

Nico

Danie and Elbie 

Kari, Anika and friend

Matric farewell dress

My dress - worn once in 1963 - is still intact .
Unfortunately too small at this stage